Rumors of Rosie's Return to 'The View' Reignites Feud with Hasselbeck

Reports that Rosie O'Donnell would return to the panel of ABC's ratings plagued "The View" could possibly rank alongside Ted Danson's toupée as the worst kept secret in the history of show business. And as details are being hammered out on the rumored one-year seven figure deal for O'Donnell, her former co-host and on-air nemesis Elisabeth Hasselbeck wasted no time before weighing in with her opinion on the controversial lesbian comedian's return.

"What could ruin a vacation more than to hear news like this?" Hasselbeck asked in a phone interview on Wednesday with her Fox & Friends co-hosts, Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade. Hasselbeck, who is on vacation this week, called into the cable news giant's popular morning program, where she willingly re-hashed her 2007 feud with O'Donnell as if it was yesterday.

"I know Rosie very well. We worked quite closely," Hasselbeck said." Talk about not securing the border. Here in comes to 'The View' the very woman who spit in the face of our military, spit in the face of her own network and really in the face of a person who stood by her and had civilized debates for the time that she was there."

Hasselbeck, known for her stand-out conservative political opinions on the mostly liberal to middle of the road panel of "The View," departed the show in July 2013. She has been a co-host on Fox News' popular morning show "Fox & Friends" since September.

"I do believe this has been in the works for a long, long time," Hasselbeck said of O'Donnell's return, adding that it was no coincidence that Rosie co-produced Barbara Walters' retirement episode that aired in May.

"For [O'Donnell] to have such ease the day of Barbara's goodbye show was shocking to me," she said. "Would you think that the woman who left the way that she did would be producing [Walters'] goodbye show? Here's the shocker: It was actually [O'Donnell's] hello show."

Hasselbeck's suspicions about O'Donnell might not be completely unfounded. According to Page Six,, before the ink is even wet on her contract, O'Donnell is already exerting control on the set.

If she signs her contract, O'Donnell will be appearing alongside her replacement, Whoopi Goldberg, the show's only remaining panelist. Former "View" co-hosts Jenny McCarthy and Sheri Shepherd were both relieved of their on-air duties last month leaving two empty chairs at the hot topics table.

Rosie is reportedly demanding approval over offers to other co-hosts. According to a source, Page Six reports that O'Donnell wants a stipulation that no other reality stars can be slotted as co-hosts. This may or may not be a final dig at Hasselbeck who came to prominence as a contestant on the second season of "Survivor" before joining the cast of "The View."

According to Fox News, if a deal is made, O'Donnell's return to "The View" will be her second time around on the show. In 2007, the controversial lesbian comedian exited her contract after barely a season on the talk show. Her public on-air feud with her politically conservative co-host came to a head when she charged Hasselbeck with not defending her against right-wing critics. The verbal melee was broadcast live and lasted nearly ten minutes before co-host Joy Behar ordered the director to cut to a commercial. O'Donnell broke her contract and departed the show shortly thereafter.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck left "The View" after a decade on Wednesday, showing no hard feelings toward her colleagues even though her political views made for some awkward and heated exchanges on the daytime chat fest over the years.